Tamper for waste paper container



Dec. 2, 1958 C. s. STRONG ETAL 2,862,443

TAMPER FOR WASTE PAPER CONTAINER 2 Sheets- Shet 1 Filed Feb. 7, 1957ATTORNEYS I Dec. 2, 1958 c. s. STRONG ET AL 2,862,443

TAMPER FoR wAsT'E PAPER CONTAINER 2, Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. '7., 1957Egli.

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ATTORNEYS,

United States Patent TAMPER ron WASTE PAPER CONTAINER ApplicationFebruary 7, 1957, Serial No. 638,782 7 Claims. (Cl. 10U-265) Thisinvention relates to a waste paper container or receptacle with anautomatic tamper, and has for an object to provide a container for wastepaper or similar compressible material and the like with an improvedform of tamping means for tamping down the discarded material toincrease the holding capacity of the container and increase the timerequired between emptying operations, and to provide an improved meansfor operating the tamper and an inlet closure means for the container orreceptacle.

Another object is to provide an improved means for mounting the tamper,including a treadle means for raising it to a position at the top of thecontainer to permit free deposit of the discarded material, and animproved connection from the treadle means to the tamper having amotion-multiplying action whereby a relatively small movement of thetreadle will impart a larger desired movement to the tamper to raise itto its upper position to permit deposit of the compressible material andpermit automatic operation of the tamper when released.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, we have devised theconstruction illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming a part ofthis specification. It is, however, to be understood the invention isnot limited to the specific details of construction and arrangementshown,

' but may embody various changes and modifications-within the scope ofthe invention.

In these drawings:

Fig. l is a front view of the container with parts broken away to moreclearly show the construction;

Fig. 2 is a side view with parts broken away;

Fig. 3 is a top plan View with the top wall removed;

Fig. 4v is an enlarged side View of the forward end portion of thetreadle with part of it broken away;

Fig. 5 is a bottom view looking toward the bottom of Fig. 4; j

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail view of the operative connection from thetamper operating means to the closure;

Fig. 7 is a similar View showing a slightmodication;

Fig. 8 is a side view of a holding means for a receptacle within thecontainer;

Fig. 9 is a partial end elevation and partial section thereofsubstantially on line 9-9 of Fig. 8;v

Fig. l0 is a vertical section through the top and front walls of thecontainer on a larger scale taken substantially on line 10'-10 of Fig.1l, and

Fig. 11 is a similar section taken substantially on line 11-11 of Fig.10.

This container is an improvement on the waste recep-A tacle of thecopending application of Clinton S. Strong, Serial No. 461,311, led Oct.1l, 1954.

This improved container or receptacle for waste paper or similarcompressible material comprises a body 1 including a front wall 2, sidewalls 3, rear wall 4 and bottom wall 5 forming a receptacle for wastepaper and similar waste material, and its upper end is closed by a topwall 6. The bottom wall 5 is also spaced above a second bottom wall 7providing space for the operating treadle 8. This container orreceptacle structure is preferably of sheet metal, with suitable meansfor securing these' walls together.

The front wall 2 is provided with an inlet or deposit opening 9 in itsupper portion closed by a closure 10 preferably pivotally mountedadjacent its lower edge, as indicated at 11, so that its upper edge mayswing outwardly from the closed position shown in full lines to its openposition shown in dotted lines, Fig. 10. At its outer ends it ispreferably provided with end walls 12 to form a sort of chute with thefront wall of the closure for guiding the material into the container orreceptacle. The pivotal connection 11 may be in these end walls. Thisclosure is spring-loaded so as to close automatically when released, aneiective means being a coil spring 13 connected to the body structure atits lower end 14- and to one of the end walls of the closure at itsupper end 15.'

Within the container is a tamper 16. This is a weighted member ofconsiderable weight and may be of different shapes, but preferably issubstantially circular with a downwardly and inwardlytapered, preferablyinverted conically shaped lower surface 17 for better tamping effeet,and its upper surface 18 also may be conically shaped. This tamper ismounted for free up and down movement to tamp the loose papers orsimilar material in the container so that it will compress them to asmaller volume and the container will hold more than it would otherwise,thus increasing the time intervals between the necessity of emptying thecontainer. For this purpose the tamper is freely supported by a coilspring 19 connected at its lower end to the weighted member 16, and topermit the use of a longer spring for greater movement of the tamper andreduce the necessary space required, the member 16 is provided with avvertical passage 20 therethrough in which the spring is located, andconnected at its lower end 21 to the weighted member by any suitablemeans, such, for example, as a washer 22. The passage therefore providesan enclosing positioning means for the spring, which retains the tamperin the upright position and the spring projects from the top of theweighted member and is secured at its upper end to an attaching means23. The spring therefore forms the sole support for the weighted memberand suspends it freely within the container or receptacle above thewaste material therein.

The spring is suspended from a iexible cable 24 passing over a guidepulley 25 in the top of the container over the weighted member andmounted on any suitable support such, for example, as supportingbrackets 26 mounted on a cross wall 27, and passes over a second pulley28 mounted adjacent one corner of the container on suitable brackets 28aand down around and under an operating pulley 29 mounted on the treadle8 with its free end extending upwardly from this pulley and anchored at30 above the pulley to any suitable part of the container, as, forexample, the bottom wall 5. The treadle may be of any suitableconstruction, but that shown comprises a ilat bar 31 pivoted at its rearend at 32 to a suitable bracket 33 mounted in the container structurebetween the bottom walls 5 and 7. At its forward end it projects throughan upright slot or opening 34 in the front wall 2 where it is in aposition easily accessible for depression by a foot of the operator. Thepulley 29 is mounted on this treadle adjacent the front end thereof, itbeing secured to the treadle by any suitable means such, for example, asthe bracket or housing structure 35, and there may be mounted a suitabletread 36 on the front end of the treadle, such, for example, as a rubberpad or similar device.

There ris also `an operative connection from this cable 24 to theclosure 10. This m-ay be of `different constructions, but a simple andeffective construction is that Patented nec. 2, s'

shown comprising a second flexible cable 37 connected at its upper orinner end to a bracket 38 mounted on the closure and passing over aguide pulley 39 and downwardly tola connectingblockffmfslidable onthecable 24. Above1the'bl'ockl40 'securedfonthe cable 24is -a stop 41preferably inthe form of -a ball, and on-t-hefcable 37 below-the-block40 is 'secured a similar stop yor ball- 42. By locating thelball 41 ardesirable-` distance above the block .40 there -is a lost motioneffected between the cable 2li-'andl the cable 37, which permits acertain amount` of movement' of thel cable 24--before shifting the block49 to-operate the closure 1);y Thisiis desirable as less motion i's-yrequired fori-opening thefclosure than for liftingthe tamper weight; 16.Astill further lost motion action may bei effected by mountinga spring:43 onthefcable 37 below-fthefblock`40 betweenthis blockand the stopball42. Thiswill permit the block to slide oncable v317 for further movementof -the Vcable 24and block 40" after the closure reaches its extremeouter position.- This provides a safety featurewhich, as indicated, willpermit movement of the cable 24 after the limit of movement of theclosure, and does away with 4the necessity'fofaccurately locating thetwo stops 41 and 422foroperating the closure. VA suitable enclosingmeans or guard 144 may be provided at the inner side of thefront` wall 2about the cables 24 and 37 andthe connecting block 4G to preventinterference with their operation by cloggingfrom the waste paper orother material deposited in the container.

The material may be tamped directly in the receptacle formed bythe sideand bottom walls, and removed through a door in the rear wall, or ifpreferred, an auxiliary or removable container such as a metal basket ora large paper bag 45 may be provided and held in its uprightropenposition to receive the waste material by a suitable number ofspringclips 46 mounted on removable rods 47 at opposite'sides ofthecontainer, therods being supported at their oppositeends insuitableanglebrackets 48 and seatingin recesses 49Vopening through thetops of these brackets.

- ln operation, depressing of the outerfree end of the treadle 8 fromits full 'line to its dotted line position of lFig. 2 will shiftthekpulley 29 carried by this treadle downwardly, and this pulley operatingon the cables 24 will by a two-t-o-oneratiofbecause of movement of thispulley and the-anchored` end 30 of the cable, give twice as much motiontothefcabler24 and the weighted tamper 16Y as is impartedto-the pulley29.Y This will raise the weighted tamper 16 above the level of theopening 9 for the closure 10, permitting waste material to be depositedthrough this opening Yinto the receptacle or container under theweighted tamper. At the same time, this movement of the cablewill openthe closurell through the connecting lock 40 and cable 37, but there isa certain amount of lost motion provided, as previously indicated,because there is not as much motion needed toropen the closure as isrequired' for lifting the weighted tamper. After the waste material hasbeen deposited in the container, the operator merely releases thetreadle 8, which permits the closure to swing to the closed positionunder action of the spring 13 and at the same time permits the weightedtamper 16 to fall. As this weighted member is freely supported by thespring 19, which forms the sole support for this member, the momentum ofthe falling movement of the weighted member causes it to continue tofall after the treadle reaches its upper position, to stretch or tensionthe spring 19, and then this tensioned spring again raises or shiftsthetamper 16 upwardly, and this member continues a series of'up and downmovements until an equilibrium is reached Vbetween the Weight of thismember and thespring. During this movement the tamperhas a veryeffective tamping action on the loose material such, for example, aspaper towels and the like, which havebeen'deposited in the container,land this tamping action is-further facilitated and increasedl and-'thelength and duration 'of the reciprocating move:

ment is increased by the tapered lower surface 17 ofthe tamper, as thesurface engaging the loose material for compressing them, because ofthis taper, increases progressively from a minimum to a maximum, insteadof immediate maximum pressure, as would be the case if the surface wereat. This weighted member has a very effective tamping and compressingeffect on thev loose material deposited in the container to materiallyreduce its volume, and this action is secured automatically without anyfurther operations required by the user of the device than merely theoperation of depressing the treadle to open the closure to permitdeposit of the material in the container, which at the same time raisesthe tamper to its upper position, and then the mere release of thetreadle permits the tamper to operate automatically for the papercompression and tamping operation. This `device is particularly adaptedfor use wherever compressible material has to be disposed of, such as inanofce or rest room adjacent to a washbowl, for use with paper towels"or the like, and a paper towel dispenser may-be mounted on the top ofvthe container, or it may be usedfin'any loca-Y tion where it isdesiredl to have a receptacle fori compres-l sible material, and whereit is desirable to increasethe time intervals' between necessaryemptying operations for the container or receptacle.

Havingthus set forth the nature of our invention, we-

claim:

l. A- container forwaste material such as paper, comprising side andbottom walls forming a receptacle, one

of the side walls Vprovided with an inlet openingadjacent the topthereof,a closure forsaid opening spring-loaded to-close automatically,a vertically movable weighted tam'- per in the receptacle, meansv forfreely suspending theV tampercomprising'a coiled spring connected at itslower end to the tamper, a exible cableconnected to theupper end of thespring, a depressible treadle at the lower part of the receptacle, apulley carried by the treadle, guide 'pulleys atthe upperfpart of thereceptacle, said-'cable passing from the-spring over the upper andtreadle pulleys and anchored at its lower free end to the receptacle,and an operative connection from the cable to the closure to open theclosure ondepression of theltreadle.-

2. A container for waste material such as paper cornprising side andbottom wallsforming'a receptacle, oneA of the side walls provided withan inlet opening adjacent the top thereof, a closure for said openingspring-loaded to close automatically, a vertically movable weighted`tamper in the receptacle, means for freely suspending the tampercomprising a coiled spring-connected at its lower end to the tamper, adepressible treadleatthe-lower part of the receptacle, a pulley mountedon the treadle, guide pulleys at the upperfpart of the receptaclefincluding a pulley above the tamper, a exible cable connected to theupper'end of the spring forming the sole support forthe tamper passingover the latter pulley and passing under the treadle pulley and anchoredto the receptacle at its free end above this pulley, and an operativeconnection from the cable to the closure to shift it to the open posi.-`tion on'depression of the treadle.

3. A container for waste material such as paper cornprisingzside yandbottom walls forming a receptacle,y a vertically movable weighted tamperin thereceptacle, means for freely suspending the tamper comprising acoiled springiconnectedat its lower end to thevtarnper, means connectedto the upper end of the spring to support it and the'tamper and raisethe tamper to the upper part of the receptacle including aiieXible-cable, a depressible treadle at the loweripart of thecontainer, guide pulley means above the tamper, a pulley carriedby thetreadle, and said cable passing from itsl connection with the springover said pulley means and downwardly'around undertheutreadle pulleyandv anchored at itsfree end abovelthispulley to raise the tamper ondepression of the treadle andlpermit the tamper to fall of itsvownweight and reciprocateup-andfdown on release-inf the' treadlex 4. Acontainer for waste material such as paper according to claim 3 in whichthe tamper has a substantially inverted conically shaped lower tampingsurface and an upright central passage in which the spring is located,and means connecting the lower end of the spring to the tamper adjacentthe lower end of said passage.

5. A container for waste material such as paper according to claim 3 inwhich there is an inlet opening in a side wall adjacent the top thereof,a movable closure for said opening spring-loaded to move automaticallyto the closed position when released, and a lost motion connection fromthe cable to the closure to shift the closure to open position ondepression of the treadle.

6. A container for waste material such as paper comprising side andbottom walls forming a receptacle, one of the side walls provided withan inlet opening adjacent the top thereof, a closure for said openingspring-loaded to close automatically, a vertically movable weightedtamper in the receptacle, means for freely suspending the tampercomprising a coiled spring connected at its lower end to the tamper,means connected to the upper end of the spring to support it and thetamper and raise the tamper to the upper part of the receptacleincluding a exible cable, guide pulley means above the tamper, adepressible treadle at the lower part of the container, a

pulley carried by the treadle, said cable passing from its connectionwith the spring over said guide pulley means and around under thetreadle pulley and anchored at its free end above this pulley to'raisethe tamper on depression of the treadle and permit the tamper to fall ofits own weight and reciprocate up and down on release of the treadle,and an operative connection from the cable to the closure comprising asecond cable, a connector block having longitudinal passages throughwhich said cables extend, and stop means for the block on the lirstcable above the block and on the second cable below the block.

7. A container for waste material such as paper according to claim 6 inwhich there is a coiled spring on the second cable between the block andthe stop on this cable below the block.

References Cited in the le of this. patent UNITED STATES PATENTS FranceJune 25, 1945

